NY lawmakers seek protection for undocumented 9/11 workers

NEW YORK (AP) — Four members of Congress from New York are proposing legislation to protect undocumented 9/11 rescue, recovery and clean-up workers from deportation.

Queens Congressman Joseph Crowley and three other New York Democrats held a press conference Sunday at City Hall to discuss the proposal.

The lawmakers say their legislation would allow undocumented workers who assisted at Ground Zero to pursue citizenship.

The legislation would provide workers with legal permanent resident status. Crowley says it has previously been done for some who served in the armed forces or as overseas translators.

The legislation comes after a onetime Sept. 11 World Trade Center cleanup volunteer was freed from immigration detention last month. Carlos Cardona received a pardon from Gov. Andrew Cuomo from a 1990 drug conviction.